I Did
by The Twitcherz
Summary: She loved him with everything she had, and she knew he had loved her. So why did he move on like she never exsisted? [leaf x crow oneshot]


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**I Did  
Leafpool x Crowfeather oneshot**

The pale dawn sky cast its rays of pink, orange, and blue across a sun-filled sky. The bright red sun slowly began to dip above the horizon, its glorious image reflected in the lake. A solitary figure crouched beside the shimmering body of water, pale brown ears flattened unhappily against her head. Amber eyes gazed hungrily at their own reflection in the glistening lake. Their owner stared at her reflection until it seemed to disappear in waves of her memories.

A warm spring breeze rustled her light brown tabby fur. The pale tabby queen realized that soon the flowers of the trees would burst forth in a glorious bloom. Spring represented, to her, the end. For it was only two years since she had ended her forbidden love affair with the WindClan warrior Crowfeather.

_Crowfeather. _Even the thought of the smoky black warrior pierced her heart with sorrow like sharp talons. She had met him on the Great Journey, when she had admired his silent courage for his Clan. And before she knew it, she was head over paws in love with the brave warrior. Those moons had been the best of her life. The pale brown ThunderClanner had even run away with the young WindClan tom. But in the end, her heart had led her home to her Clan. And as her mentor died at her paws and the flowers blossomed, Leafpool decided to be loyal to her Clan.

Perhaps things would not seem so desolate and horribly if Crowfeather had not found a new mate in WindClan. Leafpool didn't know what he saw in Nightcloud, the sleek black she-cat who had pined after Crowfeather since she was a kit. Where Leafpool was gentle and understanding, Nightcloud was harsh and demanding, constantly demanding his affection and attention. Not only that, but Crowfeather had a son, Breezekit, and he was not Leafpool's kit. Breezemjt was so similiar to Crowfeather, it was almost shocking. Both father and son had smoky black tabby pelts, and a tongue sharper than any warrior's claws. But, like his father, Leafpool suspected that under that sharp tongue, Breezekit had a sensitive and caring side to him as well.

The breeze carried a familiar scent on the wind, and Leafpool tensed, her spine tingling with anticipation. Her ears twitched as she heard pawsteps approaching her, and she angled her brown tabby ears towards the stream bordering WindClan. Leafpool turned her head and fixed her burning amber gaze on Crowfeather, who was now wading across the stream.

She shouldn't have been so shocked; she was only a tail-length inside of the ThunderClan border, and WindClan often hunted beside the prey-rich stream. But Leafpool still felt her heart plummet to the tips of her white paws at the sight of the gray-black warrior crossing the stream to greet her.

Crowfeather shook his fur, water droplets streaming from his whiskers. The smoky tabby tom padded towards her, his muscles rippling smoothly under his damp fur, which appeared black from water. He stretched his muzzle forward to touch noses in greeting, but Leafpool turned away, her limbs stiff and rigid.

"Leafpool," Crowfeather mewed gently, his soft blue eyes glowing. Leafpool could hardly stand to look at him, every muscle in her body tight with tension, but she found she could not look away, "It's good to see you." Leafpool flinched, as if his kind words were venom from the most poisonus adder striking her heart with sharp fangs.

"I wish I could say the same," The medicine cat hissed crossly, her tail-tip twitching irritably as she glared angrily at the WindClan warrior. "What are you doing in my territory?"

The hurt in Crowfeather's cerulean eyes was evident, and his tail drooped, crestfallen. Leafpool felt a sense of satisfaction at his pain, but at the same time, her heart ached for him. _Now you know how it hurts,_ Leafpool mused, her heart hammering faster than a hummingbird's wings. Crowfeather scraped the dirt nervously with a gray front paw, his ears flattened to his head.

"I thought you would want to see me," The dark tabby tomcat meowed, his voice puzzled at Leafpool's indifference. Leafpool felt anger pulsing through her, long-buried feelings for the WindClan warrior awakening in her heart, feelings she thought she had locked away forever. The brown tabby felt her neck fur rise and bristled angrily, glaring at Crowfeather with hatred in her eyes, and something else.

"You thought wrong!" Leafpool snapped bitterly, her eyes burning. She rose to her paws and quickly turned to leave, wishing she could burn Crowfeather out of her mind forever. She blinked her golden eyes, bright with pain, and began to walk away from the WindClan warrior who had prowled around in her mind for moons.

"Leafpool!" Crowfeather called after her. His voice made her stop dead in her tracks. She turned around to face him, anger making her whole body tremble. Crowfeather padded deeper into ThunderClan territory, until he was less than a whisker away from her. He stared deeply into her yellow eyes, and she felt as if he was staring into her soul.

"Go away!" The pale brown tabby she-cat hissed, her voice dripping with rage like venom. Anger and grief made her limbs shake, but she continued, "Go home to your perfect mate Nightcloud and your perfect son Breezekit! Forget all about me all over again! I didn't mean anything to you before and I don't mean anything to you now!"

Crowfeather stiffened with surprised, his gray-black tabby fur bristling defensively. He did not respond immediately, but he just gazed into her amber eyes, bright with anger and pain, and Leafpool saw her own pain reflected in his deep blue eyes. The sun ascended into the sky above them, and for a moment, she felt all of her love for him return.

"Is that what you think?" The WindClanner whispered softly, his cerulean eyes never leaving her tabby face. "I don't love her. Not like I love you. They can never take your place in my heart." Leafpool stared at him in complete shock. He still loved her? After all these moons? She turned to leave, her tail between her hind legs in pure unhappiness.

"Leafpool, wait!" His voice reached down into the depths of Leafpool's heart and pulled out her deepest feelings, her strongest emotions. "Don't you love me?"

Leafpool froze, her light brown ears flattened against her small head. Her mind was racing, and memories flooded her like the undertow of a river, threatening to take her under and drown her. The warm breeze had stopped, as if the whole forest was holding its breath, awaiting her answer.

She thought of her first trip to Highstones back in the old forest, and how she had promised to stay true to the code of a medicine cat. She thought of watching Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw leave on their journey to the sun-drown place, feeling more alone than ever. She thought of how Crowfeather had helped her and stayed by her side on the Great Journey. She thought of Feathertail, who had told her in a dream that she made Crowfeather happy. She thought of the time she had nearly slipped into the camp over the cliffs, and Crowfeather had saved her and confessed his love to her. She thought of all the times she had snuck out to meet Crowfeather, and she thought of the time they had left the Clans together. She thought of when the badgers attacked, and how they had decided to return to the Clans. She thought of when Cinderpelt died in the badger attack, and how she had promised to stay with the Clan.

She turned to face the cat who had prowled in so many of her dreams, who had shared with her the happiest moments of her life, who had taught her how to truly love another cat with all of your heart.

"I did," She whispered softly, her voice echoing in the silence. Crowfeather stared at her with hungry blue eyes, and she knew that his longing, grief-filled blue stare would be burned in her memory forever. He dipped his head formally to her and Leafpool turned her back on the gray-black tabby warrior for the last time as the sun filled the sky around her. _I wish I had been born as your heart, Crowfeather. That way, I could always be beside you, and we could live together and die together_. She was leaving him, but her heart never would

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_**A/N: I'm not sure I liked how this one turned out. R&R, please!**_


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